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Did your family come from Gaston County? To help you get started, here's a list of the BASIC sources in our collection. We have much more.
Search our library Catalog by Subject: Gaston County or by the name of a city, such as Cherryville.

Note: We have circulating copies of these six history books.

• The County of Gaston: Two Centuries of a North Carolina Region, by Robert F. Cope and Manley Wade Wellman. 274 p. Pub. 1961. Indexed. Call #: 975.677 Cop NCC.
• Gaston County, North Carolina: A Brief History, by Rita Wehunt-Black. 159 p. Pub. 2008. Indexed. Call #: 975.677 Weh NCC.
• Gastonia and Gaston County, North Carolina, 1846-1949, ed. by Joseph H. Separk. 237 p. including ads. Call # 975.677 Sep NCC. This book was published without an index, but now has one which is bound separately. Call #: 975.677 Sep Index NCC.
• History of Gaston County, by Minnie Stowe Puett. 222p. Originally published 1939 and reprinted in 1997. The reprint edition is indexed. Call #: 975.6773 Pue NCC.
• Gaston Remembers: Weaving a Tapestry in Time, by Sally Griffin. 151p. Partially indexed. 1994. Call #: 975.6773 Gri NCC.
• Gaston County: A Pictorial History, by Robert Leonard Williams. 236p. Indexed. Rev. ed. 1997. Call # 975.677 Wil NCC.

Ancestry databases (available at the libraries) include indexes and some actual certificates for North Carolina marriages, births, and deaths. (Remember that statewide birth and death registration started in 1913 in North Carolina.)

Some books in our collection:
• Gaston County, North Carolina Marriage Bonds and Licenses, 1848-1888, abstracted and compiled by Libby Wyatt Goodnight, Linda Adams Bell, and Robert C. Carpenter. 183p. Indexed. Call # 929.3756 G NCC.
• Gaston County, North Carolina Marriage Licenses, 1889-1895, abstracted and compiled by Libby Wyatt Goodnight and Linda Adams Bell. 158p. Indexed. Call # 929.3756 Gas NCC.
• Gaston County Marriages, 1896-1901, by Linda Adams Bell and Colleen Stafford Miller. 130p. Indexed. Call # 929.3756 Bel NCC.
• Gaston County, North Carolina Will Abstracts, 1846-1910, compiled by Grace Turner and Miles S. Philbeck Jr. 77p. Indexed. Call # 929.3 Tur NCC.
• Gaston County, North Carolina Death Certificates, 1909-1915, abstracted by Linda A. Bell, Colleen S. Miller, and Steven B. Painter. 211p. Indexed. Call #929.3 G NCC.
• Gaston County, North Carolina. Index to Vital Statistics --Death Records, compiled by Paul H. Dellinger, Phyllis Collins Dellinger and Sue Spivey Gladden. In two sections: 1913-1956 [Call #: 929.3 Ind NCC] and 1957-1970 [Call # 929.3 Del NCC]. Copies of a handwritten index to the records. Important! These are arranged by the first letter or two of the surname and then in chronological order. Look through the list carefully.

See our list of county records on microfilm that are kept in the North Carolina Room at http://www.glrl.lib.nc.us/lrgs/gcrecordsfilm.htm.

We own Gaston County Estate Files, 1839-1928 on microfilm. Here's the list of names with files, http://www.archives.ncdcr.gov/FindingAids/Gaston.htm.

The library has a microfilm file of the Gaston Gazette beginning with the issue for February 21, 1880. However, there are many missing issues in the early years. At this time, there is only limited indexing to the paper and/or the obituaries including The Gastonia Gazette Obituary and Death Notices Index, 1880-1899, call # 929.5 Gas NCC. Indexes are also available for 1970 and for 1980 forward. Ask at the Reference Desk.

We also have a microfilm copy of another short-lived newspaper, the Gaston Citizen, October 25, 1951--March 21, 1956. There is no index.

We will be happy to check the microfilm for an obituary if you have a date or a close approximation, or, if one can be located using the publications mentioned above. However, we don't have the staff to do extensive research.

Census. For detailed information on our holdings of original and transcribed census records, see our Genealogy Research Guide, "The Census for Genealogists", http://www.glrl.lib.nc.us/lrgs/gencensus.htm, either online or pick up a paper copy in the North Carolina room.

Cemeteries. See our guide to Gaston County Cemeteries, http://www.glrl.lib.nc.us/lrgs/gcemeterieslist.htm.

We have one volume (119p.) of materials collected by the William Gaston Chapter of the D.A.R. in 1956. These are bound under the title Gaston County Records and are unindexed. Call # 929.3 D NCC.

Our collection includes the records of Olney Presbyterian Church, 1839-1994 on 8 reels of microfilm.

In addition to more general genealogy magazines, we have files of three titles specifically for this area:

• Footprints in Time v.1, (1987) - to date, is published by the Gaston-Lincoln Genealogical Society, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncglgs/Index.htm.
• Eswau Huppeday, the journal of the Broad River Genealogical Society, in Cleveland County includes material from the surrounding counties including Gaston. v. 1 (1981) - to date. See http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncbrgs/.
• Bulletin of the Genealogical Society of Old Tryon County, http://www.rutherfordcountync.gov/dept/genealogical_society/Main.php an area which includes Gaston County, v.1 (1974) - to date.

Our collection of Gastonia city directories begins with the volume for 1910-11, but there is not a volume for every year. The coverage of communities in the county, but outside Gastonia, also varies from year to year. See our complete list, http://www.glrl.lib.nc.us/lrgs/citydir.htm. These directories are shelved in the North Carolina Collection.

For more information, also see the USGenWeb page for Gaston County, http://www.ncgenweb.us/gaston/.
An online forum for Gaston County can be found on the GenForum site, http://genforum.genealogy.com/nc/gaston/.
Another one is the Ancestry Message Board at http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.northam.usa.states.northcarolina.counties.gaston/mb.ashx. You don't need an Ancestry membership to use the boards.

For more on our resources, see our list of Genealogy & Local History Research Guides.

Email and mail requests for SPECIFIC information are welcome. We will be glad to try to answer a particular question for those who are unable to use the collection in person. Please contact: NCC Librarian, Reference Services, Gaston County Public Library, 1555 E. Garrison Blvd., Gastonia, NC 28054. (704-868-2164 ext. 2.) Our email address is refgcpl@hotmail.com.

Local History Researchers Because the Gaston-Lincoln Regional Library System cannot conduct extensive research, we have available a list of researchers who will pursue larger projects for a fee. Please contact us for a copy of this list. Note: The Gaston-Lincoln Regional Library System is not able to recommend or take responsibility for any particular researcher.

Purchasing books. The Library does not have any books for sale. Books relating to Gaston County genealogy may be purchased from:

• the Gaston-Lincoln Genealogical Society, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncglgs/Index.htm, P. O. Box 584, Mount Holly, NC 28120;
• the Broad River Genealogical Society, P. O. Box 2261, Shelby, NC 28151-2261. See http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncbrgs/.
• and from the gift shop at the Gaston County Museum of Art and History in Dallas, NC. Call 704-852-6025 for 24 hour recorded information. Http://www.gastoncountymuseum.org/.

Gaston County was formed in December 1846 from Lincoln County. See "Finding Lincoln County Ancestors", http://www.glrl.lib.nc.us/lrgs/lincgen.htm, for research sources prior to 1847.

Note: These sites are provided for informational purposes. The Library assumes no responsibility for the content of sites maintained by other organizations or persons.